Photo by Ken Redpath
City of Armagh 2nd XV
City of Armagh Seconds travelled to Newtownards on Saturday to play the local second fifteen in the conference league. Not having played for 3 weeks Armagh looked very rusty early on. Dominance by the forwards in the scrums was negated by poor decision making with ball in hand.
Two early penalties by Mathew Steenson to one by Ards gave Armagh a lead of 6 points to 3. On 34 minutes Quick ball from Jeffrey Dougan and Simon Cuttle from a breakdown saw the ball flashed out to Robbie Faloon who cut back inside then out to deliver a perfectly timed pass to Josh Morton who cantered in unopposed to touchdown midway out.
With the conversion by Steenson, Armagh had just reward for their endeavours at 13 points to 03. Ards however, replied immediately with a penalty after some indiscipline from the Armagh forwards.
At 06-13 almost on halftime, the Armagh backs conjured up another almost identical try by Josh Morton after good play by Jonny Allen and Steenson. With the whistle sounding after the conversion by Steenson, Armagh now had a healthy lead of 20 points to 06.
On the restart the Armagh front five of John Purdy, Gareth Megaw, Philip Fletcher, Willy Hill and Captain David Martin took the game to Ards with lineouts and scrums producing quick ball for the backs. The backrow of Gareth McNeice, Steven Morton and Jonny Clarke carried ball and harried the opposition throughout the game.
After several phases deep in Ards territory, Davy Martin broke clear from 30 metres out to score a good team try. Converted by Steenson, the score stretched to 06-27. Ards never gave up but couldn’t get good enough possession in the right areas of the pitch to increase their points tally. A third try for Josh Morton near the corner flag made the score 06-32.
After Simon Cuttle left the field injured, Timmy McNeice, who was having an excellent game at fullback moved to outhalf. After some great interplay from forwards and backs he scorched in for a well deserved converted score at the posts. Final score Armagh seconds 39 Ards seconds 6.
This was a great team performance and shows the strength and depth of players the club have. Next up is City of Derry 2nds away next Saturday with a 1pm kick off.
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